Naught But Love Makes Magic Real
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: Ianto has a confession to make. Luckily for him, Jack seems to have worked it out already.


**Author's Notes: Two fics in less than ten hours is a sure sign that I'm enjoying a well-deserved Easter break from school, even though this one is quite different from the last. It's based on a prompt on tumblr – 'Imagine one of your OTP has magic and their partner is always encouraging and believing in them' – so here we are. I hope you enjoy it!**

It had been just cheap tricks at first; nothing that anyone would recognise as magic and yet enough to stave off the earning to show who he really was to people. Tricks and glitter to impress his friends and – on a later date – girlfriends, but nothing more. And he'd enjoyed it greatly; the enchanted laughter and the gasps and the kisses under the fireworks the magic in his fingers had produced, but it had never really went beyond that.

And this was no different, he told himself. Not for now, anyway.

He'd met Jack five months ago when they'd both accidentally ended up in the middle of a car crash. Neither of them had been directly involved, but they'd nearly got hit and, without Jack's knowledge, it had been Ianto's powers that had stopped that from happening. It was a wonder what panic did to people (he'd made one of the cars almost melt away). They'd met a few times after that, for coffee or a film, and that had brought them where they were today.

"Give me that," he said, reaching for the match that Jack was holding in expectation. He stared at it until it lit up and then watched it as it slowly lost its shape, turning into a red rose. The delicate petals opened swiftly and Jack gasped, taking it back. "See? I told you. Easy."

"How did you do it?" Jack asked, his smile one of awe and curiosity. Ianto felt his heart melting at the sight; there were few things he loved more than the child-like interest in Jack's eyes sometimes.

"A true magician never reveals his secrets," Ianto replied, voice just enigmatic enough to be teasing but not revealing. "Do you like it?"

"Are you kidding? This is amazing!" Jack laughed, carefully stroking his fingertips over the blossoming rose once more before looking up at Ianto, eyes lit up with enthusiasm. "Show me more."

Ianto threw a look around them – it was Saturday, after all, and the park was packed with people. No one seemed to be looking at them, but that didn't mean that they weren't being watched. He'd lived twenty-three years in fear of being caught and his parents had been paranoid about it to the point where he'd been homeschooled until they'd decided that he was old enough to control himself. And now, even in front of Jack who had made him more himself than he had ever been, he couldn't bring himself to tell the truth. Not even to the man who was simultaneously a lover and a best friend.

"Maybe later, yeah?" He said with a crooked smile. "When there are fewer civilians around."

Jack gave him an odd look, but Ianto tried not to waver. He knew, of course, that no one would pay any mind to anything like that. Technology was advanced enough to allow similar stuff, but the terror of being discovered was rooted too deep into his soul. He remembered his mother's tales of days when people like him and her (Ianto had inherited the gift from his mother's family) had been burned at the stake, claimed as the devil's servants.

He would never let Jack think anything like that about him, never. No matter what it cost him.

"Okay," Jack agreed and Ianto did his best to ignore the 'kicked puppy' look he had adopted. "See you later then, yeah?"

"Of course," Ianto nodded and watched as Jack got up and left. It wasn't that he thought that the man was mad at him, of course; he just had to go back to work. The lunch break was over.

And, as Ianto made his way to the bookstore where he worked, he realised that there was one thing he'd missed from today's happenings. A vital part of it, really, given how stressed he always was about keeping his magic a secret.

With Jack, he'd gone farther – trusted more – than ever before, and it had yet to backfire.

Maybe, just maybe, things were starting to change after all.

**o.O.o**

Nearly a week had passed since they'd seen each other last – their date had been in a rather fancy restaurant down in the city centre – and Ianto smiled when he saw the impatience on Jack's face as he hurried to reach him through the crowd on the busy street. He gave a huff of laughter when the older man gathered him into his arms for a hug and a chaste kiss and managed to get out a, "I'm glad to see you too," before Jack stole his breath away.

He tended to do that a lot. For someone with magic powers, Ianto reluctantly admitted to being enchanted by Jack's sheer presence more often than it would have been appropriate.

"Jack," he started once they parted for the need of breathing. "There's something I want to tell you."

Jack gave him a hesitant smile. "Okay, then," he ventured. "Shoot."

"Somewhere a bit more private would be nice," Ianto added, lowering his voice and Jack's carefully positive expression shifted into a leer. "Not for that!" He admonished. "It's something I want to show you."

"Our place by the river, then?" Jack offered.

"Our place by the river."

It was just a bench by the small creek that passed through one of the main parks in Cardiff, but no one else went there and they'd claimed it for their own weeks ago. It was always empty and Ianto decided that it would be safe enough. The familiar and extremely _theirs_ air of the place was going to be rather comforting as well – both for him and Jack, because things could definitely get ugly on both sides. He doubted it, though; Jack was always so open about everything. He just really, really hoped that it would extend to this as well.

They were quiet as they made their way to the secluded spot they'd chosen and Ianto tried out different scenarios in his head. How should he start? What should he say first? Or maybe he could just start dropping hints. Jack would get it, one way or another, and maybe he'd win a few more days–

No. No more stalling. Jack deserved the truth. What was even more important, Ianto was sure that he could take it.

"So, what is it?" Jack asked once they'd settled down. He looked like he expected anything between a break up speech and a marriage proposal, and Ianto almost laughed. Was he in for a surprise.

"I'm not really sure how to say this," Ianto started. "But there's a– power of sort that has been with me ever since I was a kid. I've inherited it from Mum and she always taught me that I should hide it – and quite right, too – but I feel that you deserve to know the truth."

Jack raised an eyebrow as a sign for him to continue and Ianto could see that the corner of his lip was twitching, as if he was trying to suppress a smile. Ianto frowned in response. What could possibly be funny about this?

"Anyway," he continued. "Remember that trick I showed you a couple of weeks ago?"

"Would be hard for me to forget it," Jack commented; the smile now even closer to being launched.

"Well, it's not the only thing I can do," Ianto blurted out in one breath, almost scared that Jack would run away before he got to finish his story. "I can do many other things; bigger, stranger things. I was the one who stopped the car – it would have killed us both otherwise, and I don't–"

His voice was suddenly muffled as he got an armful of Jack and, much to his surprise, was swiped into a kiss that almost intertwined with Jack's smile – now unhidden and wide.

"What–" Ianto mumbled and Jack pulled back.

"I know," he said curtly and, when Ianto's eyes widened, continued. "I've had my suspicions since the first day we met, but it took some research to make sure – and, of course, I had to coax you to do more to confirm my theory. I was just wondering how long it would take for you to tell me."

"You– you _know_?" Ianto stuttered again. "You realised that someone who was almost a complete stranger had– had_ magic_, of all things, and you never said a thing to anyone?"

"Of course not," Jack said, clearly offended. "I was hoping for a second date; how would that go if they had you locked away somewhere?" When Ianto glared at him, Jack's expression sobered up. "No, really. I would never betray you like that. And I think it's beautiful, really. The things you have shown me – it's amazing, and I've seen that it's not the only thing you can do. I don't know how it happens, but I know that it does and it's fantastic. It's part of you, it comes from your hands, and it's beautiful."

"You–" Ianto shook his head in disbelief and wrapped his arms loosely around Jack's neck, bringing him close for a kiss. "Do you have any idea how wonderful you are?"

"Says the magician," Jack quipped.

"I think the proper term is warlock," Ianto corrected with a solemn expression, trying to conceal all the joy that had bubbled up inside him. "But magician does have its appeal. It sounds more romantic."

"Oh, we don't need magic for romance to spark," Jack said and Ianto groaned.

"I'm in for days and days of magic pick-up lines, aren't I?"

"Yes, you are," Jack assured with a wicked glint in his eyes. "And you're going to enjoy every minute of it."

With this, Ianto thought happily, he could agree completely.


End file.
